What We Are Looking For
We publish a wide variety of content including:
- Interviews
- Thought leadership (Op.Eds/essays)
- Infographics
- News articles
- Videos
- Top 10 Lists
- Reviews
- Summaries of new research papers
Our Audiences
SOCAP is known for our unique cross-sector approach. The SOCAP community includes a wide range of leaders and practitioners from across the social innovation ecosystem, including investors, entrepreneurs, artists, philanthropists, non-profits, corporations, government, academia, and service providers. Anyone who is interested or involved in impact investing or social entrepreneurship (creating and scaling innovative, market-based solutions for the world’s greatest challenges) is invited to join our community. Your piece can speak directly to one segment of our audience or aim to appeal to a broad range of impact perspectives–but the topic and content must be of interest to this community.
Content Guidelines (Topics, format, length…etc)
Be Relevant
Your article should be timely and relevant to impact investing, social entrepreneurship, or one of the other related topics of interest to members of the SOCAP Community (including the subjects that are covered at our SOCAP 365 events and the content themes at our flagship annual conference in San Francisco).
We focus on market based solutions to global challenges and innovative collaboration across sectors to accelerate change. Stories about nonprofits or philanthropic endeavors that do not relate to impact investing or social entrepreneurship are important and valuable, but not the right fit for SOCAP.
Have a Point
We recommend that your article focus on a single major point or story you wish to get across to the SOCAP audience. We encourage you to add stories that illustrate your argument and any data you present. Be specific instead of broad.
Present Authoritative Evidence
Please back up your argument with as much evidence as possible. You may reference other experts in the field, pieces of journalism, white papers, case studies, academic research, reports…etc. Please always provide proper attribution to your sources, and links to all authoritative online sources cited in the article.
Formatting
Always include a title (headline), paragraph subheadings, and a brief bio of yourself. Ending with a resources section that links to your sources and/or an “additional reading” section that links to other relevant, authoritative sources (online tools, whitepapers, case studies…etc) is also encouraged.
A Note on the Title
All pitches and article submissions should include a title. The title of your post is the most important line you will write. Catch readers’ interest with a great title that is concise and compelling.
Length
There is no minimum length requirement. Your draft should be only as long as it needs to be to make a significant point–no more, no less. As for the maximum, we prefer that you keep pieces to less than 2500 words, but will make exceptions if a longer piece is warranted.
Imagery
Please send your headshot, and any other photos or other types of imagery along with your draft. PNG and JPG files are preferred. Only send photos that you have the rights to share. Provide us with the the name of any person or organization that we should credit the photos or graphics to.
No Press Releases or Advertorials
We are looking for posts that stimulate authentic conversations. We do not publish press releases, advertorials, or other types of overtly promotional content. You are welcome to discuss your own organization, but the piece must provide clear value to the audience in order to be published. You are welcome to share major takeaways from your recent study or report, a sample framework, or tools that may be part of a broader service, but we draw the line at promoting specific consumer products or crowdfunding campaigns.
Re-Prints
We prefer to publish original pieces, but will make exceptions to republish excerpts of extremely significant posts that have already been published elsewhere (with a link to the original). If you have a post that you would like to request us to consider republishing on the SOCAP site, please be prepared to write a new introduction that frames it for the SOCAP community.
Our Editorial Process
Once you send in your draft, our editorial team will review your article for style and clarity. We may suggest or request significant changes if necessary. You will have the opportunity to review and approve any changes made by the editorial team before the post is published. We reserve the right to refuse publication of your article if it does not meet our standards. The editor of the SOCAP blog will keep you up to date throughout the editorial review process.
Publishing Schedule
Please let us know if your pitched article is time-sensitive. If you would like for the post to come out at a specific time so we can coordinate promotional efforts, then please indicate that in your pitch email. Please give us as much information as possible about your preferred timeline.
Promotion
When your article is live on the SOCAP site, your editor will notify you and send you a link. We encourage you to share this link through your networks. Please tag SOCAP’s official account on the platform.
Twitter: @SOCAPmarkets
Facebook: @SocialCapitalMarkets
Instagram: socapmarkets
LinkedIn: Social Capital Markets
Social Media
When you submit your draft, please share any professional social media handles for yourself, your organization, or business referenced in the guest post. This will allow your content to be tagged on our channels, extending the reach of readers.
Republishing Your Article
After your article is published on the SOCAP site, you may publish an excerpt of your piece on your own or another website. Please link to the full article on the SOCAP site. (For SEO purposes, it is not a good idea to duplicate the exact same content on two different sites).
How to Pitch Your Content Idea
Please send a brief summary of your article (a sentence or two is fine) and any supporting materials to [email protected].
